Tribute to Master Splinter
by enchantress99
Summary: SPOILERS FOR ANNIHILATION EARTH IF YOU AIN'T SEEN IT!In light of the most recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode, I've decided to do a small tribute to our favorite sensei and father. This will be four different points of view, from, of course, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey, what their thoughts were when they turned to see their beloved father and master stabbed by Shredder.


**Hello, fellow Ninjas!**

 **So, after watching "Annihilation Earth", I can honestly say that I started crying. I cannot believe that Nick would do something like that to us Shellheads! So, I hope you all enjoy this one-shot.**

 **Also, if you want this to be worse, and possibly make you cry, listen to You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban while you read this.**

 **Disclaimer: IF I OWNED TMNT SPLINTER WOULD NOT BE DEAD!**

 **Leo POV**

He heard it before he turned. The gasp of his father, the sickening sound of Shredder's claws extending. Leo turned, and his eyes widened, seeing the metal tips sprouting from Splinter's chest. He couldn't form words. Splinter's eyes opened wide, and Leo could see the glint in Shredder's, making him sick. His mouth couldn't form the word he wanted to yell, no sound came from the eldest Hamato son's horrified form, except for a strangled gasp. He was engulfed in a flashback.

 _Leo was seven the first time that he and Raph got into their first huge fight, one of many. Raph had teased Mikey, and Leo had gone off at him, and it had ended with the slightly younger brother stalking off. Master Splinter had called Leo into the dojo. Leo inspected the floor earnestly as he drug his feet towards the dojo._

" _My son, why did you shout at your brother?" he asked him. Leo looked down._

" _He was teasing Mikey. He's always acting like he's better than us! I don't understand why he's always like that." He exclaimed. Splinter placed a hand on Leo's shoulder._

" _Leonardo, I understand that you always wish to understand your brothers, but sometimes it is better to let them be. I know that Raphael has a difficult time expressing his emotions, so he does that in a way he knows how. If he teases you, or any of your brothers, he loves all three of you, showing in his own way. I have no doubt that as he gets older, you and him will be close, and fiercely protective of one another." Master Splinter said, smiling. Leo looked up at him._

" _Sensei, what was your life like before we became a family?" he asked quietly. Splinter sighed._

" _That story, my son, is saved for another day. I can tell you that I was a happy man, with a wife and daughter. One of my oldest friends destroyed that, and I came here. I found you four, and I gained a new family, that I swore to always protect." He said, and Leo grinned, hugging his father around his waist._

" _Thank you, Father." He said. Splinter smiled, and hugged his oldest son back._

" _You are welcome, my son." He replied._

 **Raph POV**

Leo turned first. Raph did, and his gaze turned red. His father, the one person who had calmed him throughout his rages besides Mikey, had Shredder's metal claws protruding from his chest. His rage-filled mind couldn't comprehend words. He was vaguely aware of Leo's shocked, and hurt gaze next to him. Raph, hardened, tough ninja that he was, felt tears filling his eyes. His father. He watched as the light left one of the only people who understood him in the world's eyes, and he was pulled into a flashback.

 _Raph was ten. He had just finished sparring with Leo, and his older brother had barely beaten him. Splinter had congratulated Leo, and Raph stormed out of the dojo in anger. He shut the door to his room, and collapsed on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. Spike slept in his cage on the cabinet next to his bed._

" _Raphael." Raph sat up, and saw his father standing in the doorway._

" _Guess Leo was perfect today, huh?" Raph muttered. "Like always." Splinter walked into the room, and sat next to Raph on his bed._

" _Raphael, why do you do this?" Splinter asked, and Raph looked up at him._

" _Leo's the oldest, so he's the perfect one, Mikey's the baby, and Donnie's the genius. I don't fit in anywhere, Sensei. Not even with my own family." He said sadly, and Master Splinter put an arm around him gently._

" _Raphael, my son, while it is true that each of your brothers has a special talent, you forget that you have one as well." He said, and Raph looked away._

" _What is it Sensei?" he asked._

" _You have a fierce desire to prove yourself, and to protect your family. I have no doubt, my son, that you will become your brothers' guardian when you four are older. And I shall be your guardian as long as we are together." Splinter said, smiling. Raph perked up slightly._

" _Really?" he asked. Splinter nodded, and Raph's face broke into a hesitant smile. He leaned forward, and hugged his father tightly, feeling warm and comforted._

 **Donnie POV**

Donnie's eyes widened, and he turned, and immediately felt sick to his stomach. His heart clenched, seeing his father impaled by the claws of Shredder. His mouth formed the word, but no sound came out. He was in shock. He saw Mikey's baby blue eyes widen as well. Donnie suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He watched as his father's own breath left his body, and the kind sparkle in his eyes dim. Donnie felt tears in his eyes, and fell into a flashback.

 _Donnie was nine. He was hiding in his lab, away from Mikey, Leo, and Raph. He felt like a nerd, an outcast, not interested in what his brothers liked. The only person who really understood him was his father, but he was helping Leo. He wasn't sure why he felt like he didn't belong, but he sometimes did. Even though he knew that Raph sometimes felt the same way, Donnie couldn't just go to his hotheaded brother, and say, "Hey Raph! What's it like feeling like you don't belong?". That would be to awkward. Donnie normally stayed in his lab, and was on his computer._

" _Donatello. What are you up to, my son?" Master Splinter walked into the lab, and Donnie smiled up at his father._

" _I'm just looking at some television shows that we can get. Mikey's getting bored with the ones we get." He said, and Splinter chuckled._

" _You are very thoughtful, Donatello. I'm sure Michelangelo will appreciate it." He said, and Donnie blushed slightly._

" _I'm just doing it so he stops bugging us." He said quietly._

" _You care for your brothers, Donatello, just as they care for you." Splinter said, and Donnie sighed._

" _I don't like anything that they do. Sometimes I feel left out, but I don't want to include myself, because I sometimes don't know what they're talking about, and that's when I feel like, even though I know more science-y stuff, I don't know what they like." Donnie said sadly. Splinter smiled, and put an arm around his third son._

" _Donatello, you and your brother are all special in your own way. While you may not find what your brothers enjoy interesting, you don't always have to hide away from them because of it. I am sure that Leonardo would find a way to enjoy what you enjoy, and Michelangelo and Raphael are surely going to find some way to share what they enjoy with you." Splinter said, and Donnie looked at him hopefully._

" _Really?" he asked, and he hugged his father. Splinter smiled, and hugged him back._

" _Do not worry, my son. You four will always have each other, and myself." He said._

 **Mikey POV**

Mikey turned as soon as he heard Leo's gasp. Immediately, he wanted to turn away. His eyes filled with tears as he briefly met Donnie's eyes. His mouth dropped open as he saw Shredder stab his father. His wonderful, caring, protective father. He couldn't form any words. His mind fell completely blank, replaced by searing pain. It was as if he and his brothers felt their father's pain. Their father's anguish and sadness. Suddenly, Mikey felt six years old again, and he fell back into a flashback.

 _Mikey followed Raph through the lair._

" _Pleeease, Raphie? I wanna play with Spike!" he said, and Raph growled at him, and turned to glare._

" _No, Mikey! Spike is_ _my_ _pet, and I'm not going to let you play with him! You'll probably hurt him! I don't trust you." He said, and walked off, leaving his youngest brother standing in the middle of the lair. Mikey stared after him, hurt blooming in his chest. He shook it off, and skipped towards Donnie's lab._

" _Hey D! Wanna play?" he asked, and Donnie looked at him over his computer._

" _That's childish, Mikey. I'm trying to figure out how to get signal on the TV." He said, blowing his little brother off, and going back to his computer. Mikey pouted, and walked out of the lab, then grinned, knowing who would play with him._

" _LEO! Come play with me. PLEEEEEASE?" he asked his oldest brother, who was sitting on the floor of the dojo. Leo cracked one closed eye open._

" _Mikey, I'm trying to meditate. Go play by yourself." He said, then closed his eye again. Mikey sighed sadly, and walked out of the dojo, and flopped down on the couch, fiddling with one of his action figures._

" _My son, what's wrong?" Mikey looked up to see Master Splinter standing in front of him, his cane placed in front of his robes._

" _Donnie's busy on his computer, Raph's being mean, and Leo's meditating. No one wants to play with me. They aren't even paying attention to me!" Mikey said sadly. Splinter sat down next to his youngest son._

" _Michelangelo, your brothers are doing what they love. Sometimes everyone needs to spend time alone. This does not mean that your brothers love you any less. You four share a strong bond that amazes me. I have no doubt that it will increase as you grow older. Michelangelo, you do not need to fear losing your brothers, or not having their attention. You are their youngest brother, and they will always be there for you, as will I." Master Splinter said, and Mikey smiled._

" _Thanks, Sensei." He said, hugging his father tightly, and burying his face in his maroon robes._

 **All Four POV**

All four brothers froze where they were, no longer seeing anything. Not seeing the aliens finishing the calculations. Not seeing the black hole being created. Not seeing April, Casey, or any of the Mighty Mutanimals. All they saw was their master, their sensei, their _father._ They watched helplessly as he fell to the ground. April let out an ear-splitting shriek, throwing all of their enemies back. Leo was the first to shake out of his stupor. He race towards their father, followed closely by his brothers. Leo pulled their father's head into his lap, and Mikey was still for a moment, before letting out a sob, and throwing his arms around their father's still form.

" _He said he would always be there for us."_ The youngest Hamato brother thought, shaking with sobs.

" _He said we would always have him."_ Donnie thought, a hand on Mikey's shoulder as tears fell from his eyes.

" _He would always be our guardian. As long as we had."_ Raph thought, staring down at his father as a few tears escaped his hard brown eyes that were slowly melting with sadness.

" _He sword he would always protect us."_ Leo thought, frozen where he knelt. All four were in shock, not believing that their strong, powerful, kind father was dead. That he was gone. The Earth was being destroyed, but the Hamato brothers didn't care. Their world was gone. It was completely, and utterly… gone.


End file.
